Seminole considers urging legislators to adopt stricter drinking water protections

Seminole County commissioners on Tuesday considered urging Florida lawmakers in the coming weeks to adopt a statewide policy during next year’s legislative session that provides more protective standards for Florida’s drinking water.

The move follows a recent investigative series by the Orlando Sentinel that reported an extensive contamination of the industrial chemical 1,4-dioxane in the underground Floridan Aquifer in Seminole’s northwest side where some of the drinking water wells for Lake Mary, Sanford and Seminole have been located for years.

The contamination is alleged to have come from an old factory in Lake Mary just east of Interstate 4 that manufactured circuit boards for telephone systems from 1968 to 2003.

How a toxic chemical infiltrated the Floridan Aquifer, tainting Seminole County tap water

The former owners of the plant have denied liability for the contaminants polluting the water supplies. But they are financially supporting efforts to clean up the property off Rinehart Road and financed a high-end water treatment plant for the city of Lake Mary.

But Seminole commissioners during their brief discussion did not mention the contamination or 1,4-dioxane. Nor did they provide any details as to the extent of any new and protective drinking water standards. Florida lacks any drinking water rules for 1,4-dioxane. The chemical is categorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as likely to cause cancer.

They noted that state Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Republican from Sanford, chairs the Senate appropriations committee on agriculture, environment and general government. His district represents all of Seminole and a portion of north Orange County.

“This is the right time, being that he [Brodeur] is the chair of that particular committee, and I do understand how much power, especially with DEP [state’s Department of Environmental Protection], there is in that position,” Seminole Commissioner Lee Constantine said. “The iron is hot.”

Industrial chemical infiltrated Lake Mary, Sanford, Seminole water wells; few knew and there was no coordinated response

Last week, state Sen. Linda Stewart, a Democrat from east Orange County who also is a member of the same committee, asked for Florida’s environmental agency and the legislature’s research arm to provide an overview of the state’s awareness, investigation and transparency for the chemical contamination in Seminole County.

Stewart asked state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo to commission a study by the Office of Program Policy and Analysis to determine “what steps, if any, the state of Florida should take to make sure we preserve the integrity of our drinking water supplies.”

Tricia Johnson, Seminole’s deputy county manager, told commissioners that “it would be valuable” to talk to Brodeur regarding state funding and “to determine if there is more stringent legislation that should be drafted” regarding cleaner drinking water.

After the county meeting, Zack Brodersen, an aide for Brodeur, said the senator was “not available for comment” regarding Seminole County’s discussion.

He noted that local state legislators, including Brodeur, plan to hold a public meeting on Oct. 30 in Sanford to hear from representatives from local groups and governments on their legislative priorities for next year’s session, which begins in January. And the topic of more protective measures for Florida’s drinking water could be part of that discussion.

1,4-dioxane was typically used in manufacturing facilities like the one in Lake Mary from as early as the 1970s. The chemical was not tested for in Lake Mary, Sanford and northwest Seminole’s drinking water until it was discovered in 2013.

At Sentinel forum, government officials, public discuss Seminole County’s tribulations with 1,4-dioxane

Seminole Commissioner Andria Herr said she would like to learn more about how to clean the contamination in Seminole.

“For the record, our drinking water is clean,” she said. “Can there be improvements? Yes. Is there an area of opportunity with finding the plume and pulling the plume out? I don’t know scientifically if that’s even a reality or what the cost of it would be. So I really would like to know more about that before we simply do it, just so that we’re saying something that looks good. Quite honestly, I struggle with that.”

Commission Chair Amy Lockhart said she would like to see more research into the extent of the contamination and its effects.

“Because I feel like we’re still in the search and find out and educate and let’s learn what our options are, phase of this,” she said. “We certainly don’t have enough knowledge. My one takeaway from all of this is that everyone doesn’t know everything about this yet. So I don’t think we have a fix for whatever a fix may be, if a fix is even scientifically possible.”

Seminole last month sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement and enforce regulations regarding 1,4-dioxane.

Q&A: What is 1,4-dioxane, is it safe to drink and how do you get rid of it?

County Manager Darren Gray noted that Carollo Engineers, an Orlando-based consulting firm hired by Seminole, provides the county with weekly reports on its drinking water. Carollo representatives plan to make a presentation before commissioners in the coming weeks regarding Seminole’s water quality.

“Let’s hear from them and see what their assessments and recommendations are,” Gray said in recommending that the county wait before urging state legislators to make any new policies or legislation regarding drinking water.

mcomas@orlandosentinel.com